You should have access to a large number of children between the ages of 5 and 12 years old.

Material Availability

You might need a video camera in order to record conversations between children.

Cost

Very Low (under $20)

Safety

No issues

*Note: This is an abbreviated Project Idea, without notes to start your background research, a specific list of materials, or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated Project Ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk.

Abstract

How do you feel when a friend comes too close to you? How far away or close do you think is necessary to have a conversation with someone? The answers to these questions are dependent upon the size of your personal space. Some people like to be within a foot of each other when having a conversation and others feel that being 3 feet apart is still just a little too close for comfort.

Personal space is defined as the protective area surrounding a person's body (not necessarily spherical in size) that the person regards as psychologically his or hers. Invasion of personal space can lead to discomfort, anger, or anxiety. In the animal kingdom, personal space differs from territory in that it is mobile. We take our personal space wherever we go. Another difference is that territory boundaries are fixed, whereas personal space has dynamic boundaries, dependent upon the situation. When person 1 enters person 2's personal space, person 2 will usually get very uncomfortable and withdraw from the vicinity. As someone gets closer to us, we pick up on cues that give us information about that person. For example, as someone gets closer, we pick up on thermal, olfactory, and facial cues. Some of these cues might signal that we should get away from that person immediately!

There are many different questions you can ask about personal space. For example, at what age do humans start to develop their personal space? When do we start to learn socially acceptable behavior when interacting with other people? Does the size of a person's personal space depend upon his or her gender? Are personal space boundaries equal in all directions? Does it matter if someone walks straight toward us or sidles up next to us? Are there different personal space zones? How does culture affect personal space? If these questions interest you and you are not too afraid to get close, then you ought to attempt this science project! To get some ideas on how to set up personal space testing, check out the references in the Bibliography.

APA Style

Science Buddies Staff.
(2017, July 28).
Don't Stand So Close To Me! An Investigation into Personal Space.
Retrieved October 16, 2017
from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/HumBeh_p053/human-behavior/personal-space

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